Int. J. Mining and Mineral Engineering, Vol. 11, No.

1, 2020 1

Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the

mining industry – a case study

Mike Sishi and Arnesh Telukdarie*

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment,
Postgraduate School of Engineering Management,
University of Johannesburg,
0001, South Africa
Email: mike.sishi@gmail.com
Email: arnesht@uj.ac.za
*Corresponding author

Abstract: In modern mining, it is imperative to have real-time flow of

information between enterprise level and shop floor systems. The gaps that
exist between these spheres make it difficult for managers to have timely
information for optimum decision making. A mining company needs
instantaneous visibility on production, quality, cycle times, machine status, and
other important operational variables to achieve optimum and effective
operations. With the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies at a mine, the
integration of fragmented shop floor and enterprise level systems enables
seamless communication in delivering optimum operations. This research
demonstrates Industry 4.0 technologies as the mechanisms for integrating
business systems, manufacturing systems and processes. The Industry 4.0
methods researched are deployed using software development lifecycle (SDLC)
process at a mining company to integrate systems such as manufacturing, plant,
business partners’, and SAP ERP. The results introduce a semi-smart mine with
real-time visibility of the overall mining status.

Keywords: Industry 4.0; internet of things; IoT; industrial internet of things;

IIoT; cyber physical systems; CPS; big data; enterprise resource planning;
ERP.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Sishi, M. and

Telukdarie, A. (2020) ‘Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the
mining industry – a case study’, Int. J. Mining and Mineral Engineering,
Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.1–22.

Biographical notes: Mike Sishi is a PhD student and Co-Supervisor in the

Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (FEBE) at the University of
Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering
Management completed with distinction. His research interests focus on the
digitisation of the industrial sector, with specific emphasis on the utilisation of
Industry 4.0 technologies such as internet of things (IoT), industrial internet of
things (IIoT), big data analytics (BDA), cyber physical systems (CPS), artificial
intelligence (AI), etcetera. Moreover, he serves as a consulting engineer for
various industrial companies in Southern Africa countries, where he
implements Enterprise 4.0 technologies.

Arnesh Telukdarie is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and

Built Environment (FEBE) at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He
holds a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering and has published widely in
Industry 4.0. He is also a consulting engineer in Industry 4.0, digital business.

Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

2 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

His academic work focuses on mentoring Engineering Master’s and PhD

students and writing conference and journal papers. He has published in over
30 international journals and has over 100 conference proceeding. His research
projects strive to unearth technologies and implementation methodologies that
enable the digitising of the technologically challenged industrial and mining
sectors.

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled

‘Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry – a case
study’ presented at 2017 International Conference on Industrial Engineering
and Engineering Management, Singapore, 10–13 December 2017.

1 Introduction

Mining is one of the biggest contributors to socio economic and human development.
High global demand for raw materials, reduced ore grades, strict labour market and high
standards of production requirements in tandem with saving environmental resources are
key challenges of the mining industry (Dorin et al., 2014). Mining is also undergoing
supplementary but significant market challenges such as international competition,
reaching the technical limits of economies of scale, and continued declining commodity
prices. The contemporary challenge is full enterprise resource planning (ERP) to plant
integration. To tackle these challenges, it is imperative to have a real-time flow of
information between ERP and different systems and levels in mining (Nurmianto et al.,
2015).
Achieving operational excellence, compliance, and management, mining companies
have large capital invested in ERP systems. Nevertheless, the promise of easy integration
of advanced technologies at various levels in the mining business to achieve higher
flexibility, better quality, process outcomes and control, and higher profits has been
difficult (Lee et al., 2013). ERP suites are not up to the task of providing suitable
transparency for lower-level processes due to certain limitations although they are the
informational backbone of many systems (Lambert et al., 2017).
ERP systems have been very popular among mining and manufacturing organisations
worldwide. Elliott (2013) describes ERP as a combined system that processes
information and supports a variety of business functions such as human resources,
finance, materials planning, and production. However, Xue (2014) argues that an ERP
system lacks the capabilities of regulating daily shop floor operations. For example; if it
is not integrated with shop floor, ERP cannot transit information (i.e., production orders,
order cancellation, and updated bill of materials) to the shop floor in real-time. In turn;
shop floor systems cannot send information, such as work in progress (WIP), quality,
scrap, stock counts, and other import data, back to the ERP system instantaneously. This
results in ERP system being updated manually from spreadsheets or pieces of paper
(Elliott, 2013).
Industry 4.0 technologies which encompass internet of things (IoT), industrial internet
of things (IIoT), cyber physical systems (CPS), Big data, and artificial intelligence (AI)
have been argued to be the best solution for integrating business processes in
manufacturing industries. Lee et al. (2013) praise Industry 4.0 for its three dimensional
architecture: first, the horizontal integration that spans across the entire value stream
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 3

network; second, the end-to-end engineering that covers the entire product life cycle; and
last, the vertical integration for networking all manufacturing, plant, and ERP systems.
In the absence of real-time communication between the ERP and sundry levels and
systems in the mining business the recently projected success of Industry 4.0 specific to
manufacturing, this work defines Industry 4.0 technologies to integrate disjointed systems
in a mining company. The outcomes of implementing Industry 4.0 are thoroughly
monitored and discussed to determine if a smart or semi-smart mine is realised.

2 Purpose

In the aforementioned absence of convergence of the ERP, plant, and manufacturing

systems in mining and the recent emergence of Industry 4.0, this paper answers the
following questions:
1 Can Industry 4.0 technologies be implemented in the mining sector?
2 What would be the protocol to the introduction of Industry 4.0 in the mining
industry?
3 How would implementing Industry 4.0 benefit the mining industry?

3 Literature study

3.1 The role of mining in the economy sector

3.1.1 Economic benefits of the mining sector
Mining brings direct economic gains to countries with low or middle national income.
These benefits are summarised in Table 1 according to elucidations by Suutarinen (2015),
Dorin et al., (2014) and Olalekan et al., (2016)
Table 1 Economic benefits of the mining sector

Benefit
Foreign direct investment
Exports
Government taxes
National income and gross
domestic product (GDP)
Work and salaries
Economic development
Description
Foreign investments may yield financial benefits from exchange
rates that in turn improve credit ratings and capacity. These
benefits make it possible for a country to obtain long-term loans
from abroad.
Mining is a great contributor to exports of many countries.
Mining contributes to national government revenues and the
revenue allocation between national and sub-national levels.
Mining provides direct contribution to the country’s GDP.
Mining generally creates high paying job in contrast to jobs
created by other national sectors. Mining can also create indirect
jobs in the supply chain.
Livelihood gets access to education and basic healthcare.
4 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

3.1.2 Technological problems in mining

A number of industrial and mining companies seek ways of cutting costs and reduce
overheads by producing more with less resources. The manufacturing sector has made
significant advances in terms harnessing new technologies such as advanced
manufacturing and Industry 4.0 in their operations (Shrouf et al., 2014). In contrast, the
mining industry is still behind when it comes to employing new technology in their
ventures. The majority of activities such as sending production planning (PP) from the
ERP system to the shop floor, recording production actual from the shop floor back to the
ERP system, creating maintenance schedule, reporting on the maintenance status, to
name but a few, are still performed manually (Nurmianto et al., 2015). The industry does
not make best use of available and new technology opportunities to integrate and report
from disjointed systems that operate in silos. These gaps could be responded by using
technologies that integrate and make systems talk to and share information with each
other. Data visualisation could help with key performance indicators (KPIs) and other
reporting requirements (Iarovyi et al., 2016).

3.2 Enterprise resource planning

ERP suites consist of big collections of enterprise-wide functions that also provide
functions for shop floor support. But their main focus was traditionally on the planning
side of the production processes. In particular, this was executed by providing
scheduling algorithms like material resource planning (MRP) II to perform PP and a
requirement-based purchasing of supplies. One of the main problems of ERP systems
production modules is the lack of integration with real-time production data generated on
the shop floor (Greene et al., 2009; Lambert et al., 2017; Xue, 2014).
Improved integration and information flow between business functions, both inside
and outside an organisation, can be achieved through the utilisation of ERP systems.
Nevertheless, this approach is not good enough because the primary objective of ERP is
to support managerial decisions, but it falls short in supporting shop-floor supervisors and
frontline workers (Xue, 2014)

3.3 Fourth industry revolution

3.3.1 Industry 4.0 vision
Weyer et al. (2015) describe Industry 4.0 as a strategic inventiveness a German
government adopted as a ‘High-Tech Strategy 2020 Action Plan’ in 2011. Industry 4.0
has gained popularity in many other countries globally and it is viewed as the extension
of the previous three industrial revolution that is based on mechanisation. IoT, IIoT, AI,
and CPS are thrown into the manufacturing sphere to move manufacturing towards a
4th industrial revolution (Iarovyi et al., 2016).

3.3.2 CBS and IoT

CPS comprise of field devices, machines, production modules, and products that
independently make decisions, exchange information, trigger actions, and control each
other. CPS are realised by the employment of IoT technology to transform factories into
smart environments. IoT is the connection of physical or smart devices that consequently
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 5

collect huge amount of data. On the other hand, IIoT is the implementation of IoT in the
industrial sector. These devices have embedded mechatronic components, which are
sensors for collecting data and actuator systems for manipulating physical processes.
Human-machine-interfaces are used by CPS to communicate with humans (Xue et al.,
2014; Iarovyi et al., 2016). Since CPS enable vertical integration and networked
manufacturing systems, they allow flexible configuration of production and harness
differentiated management and control process opportunities. CPS enables new
opportunities for mutual benefit by allowing closer collaboration between business
partners (i.e., suppliers and customers) and between employees (Oesterreich and
Teuteberg, 2016).

3.3.3 Industry 4.0 paradigms

3.3.3.1 Vertical, horizontal, and end-to-end integration layers
Vertical integration and networked manufacturing systems connect different internal
sections of a manufacturing company such as ICT systems and processes. They define a
connection of the value creation factors such as product, human, and process along the
various levels of the value creation modules from production stations through production
cells and production lines up to the smart factory.
Table 2 Smart factory characteristics

Characteristic Description
Mass customisation Fluctuating requirements of production orders are accommodated. It
is also possible to run low production volumes but still make a profit.
Agility Different aspects such as time, quality, price, etc. are well managed
by intelligent and self-configuring production systems.
Visibility and optimised IoT provides endwise transparency in real or semi-real-time. This
decision-making allows right business decisions to be taken at the right time.
Better planning methods Factories can be optimised at different levels in real-time on case by
case bases.
Improved data analysis Large quantities of data provided by IoT devices can be used for
analysis purposes. For example, machine vendors can use data
collected from their machines to improve machines efficiency and
strengthen customer relationship.
Remote monitoring IoT will enable remote monitoring, operating, and maintenance of
factories.
Automation Manual processes will be automated to reduce human involvement.
Thus, enhancing efficiency and reducing errors and waste.
Proactive maintenance Proactive maintenance can be achieved by collection performance
data in real-time and using that data to determine when a machine
should be booked for service.
Integrated supply chain A manufacturing company can connect its equipment to suppliers,
enabling visibility on interdependencies, material flow, and
production cycle time.
Energy management Energy consumption by production lines and machines can be
measured and managed effectively. This can be achieved by smart
metres that render real-time data and take decisions with the help of
external services.
6 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

Horizontal integration creates a value network that enables local and globally dispersed
value chain partners to collaborate through the integration of ICT systems, processes, and
data flows. The integration of ICT systems, processes, and data flows within the company
and between various businesses such as customers, suppliers, and other external partners
allows closer cooperation with value chain partners across business boundaries.
End-to-end digital integration is the engineering across the entire value chain that
describes the cross-linking and digitisation of the entire product lifecycle. The product is
tracked from its raw material status up to its end of life. The integration enables
connected stakeholders, products, and equipment to share data in real-time during various
phases of the product lifecycle

3.3.4 Characteristics of smart factories

Industry 4.0 enables the creation of sustainable smart factories. Table 2 discusses main
characteristics of these smart factories as described by Shrouf et al. (2014).

4 Research design

The research employs software development lifecycle (SDLC) process as a protocol to

the implementation of Industry 4.0 at the mine. Raj et al. (2014) and Kumar et al. (2013)
express that SDLC is utilised in software engineering, systems engineering and
information systems (IS) for describing a process for requirements engineering, design,
implementation, testing, deployment, and support. Figure 1 portrays an overview of
SDLC approach incorporated into the research design.

Figure 1 Research design as adapted from the SDLC process (see online version for colours)

Source: Raj et al. (2014)

 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 7

5 Literature, requirements engineering, and data analysis

5.1 Literature
The literature provides great insight on the global state of the mining sector in terms of
economic importance, technical gaps, and possible scientific solutions. A plant
integration project in a mining company is used to implement the case study. Due to the
intellectual property (IP) regulations, the name of the mining company is kept
anonymous. Section 3.1.1 discusses a brief background of the mining company in which
a case study is implemented.

5.2 Requirement engineering

The requirements engineering phase involves 37 business stakeholders, from different
sections and levels of the business, participating in the interview workshops and sharing
important information about the current and desired state of the mine. These interviews
shed light on which areas of the business need more attention than others. The
observation exercises reveal the current business processes and sometimes compare the
processes with the information shared by the stakeholders during interview workshops.
Information gathered during the interview workshops and observations is documented,
corroborated with relevant stakeholders, and updated if necessary.

5.3 Data analysis

Data gathered during the requirements engineering phase is analysed, documented, and
validated with the business people at the mine. The aim of data and requirements analysis
is to produce business requirements documents (BRDs) that are used to design the
Industry 4.0 solution.

5.3.1 The mine

The mine is surrounded by a number of similar mines. This mine has an expected
production of 7,000 tons annually. The mine is designed as an open pit mining and uses
drills for creating mining pit and electric shovels for excavation. The shovels and trucks
are used for loading and hauling. The rest of operated equipment includes excavators,
rock breakers, and dozers. The processing plant is used to produce high grade product
from ore extracted from the ground. Figure 2 depicts the mine processes from drilling,
blasting, excavation, and loading in the open pit. Thereafter; hauling, dumping to
stockpiles, crushing, and manufacturing processes are illustrated.

5.3.2 Mining systems

5.3.2.1 SAP ERP
The mine uses SAP as the ERP system which is not integrated with other systems.
Consequently, the ERP is not sending and receiving data in real-time. Pivotal data such as
PP, master data, and scheduled maintenance is exported into excel spreadsheets and
e-mailed to the shop floor and other systems at the mine. Data, from different sources, is
8 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

captured manually into the ERP. The mine makes use of the following SAP ERP
modules: materials management (MM), PP, quality management (QM), plant
maintenance (PM), asset management (AM), and financial account (FI). These modules
acquire manual data that is susceptible to errors. As a result, the business seeks to
integrate SAP ERP with other systems at the mine.

Figure 2 The mine (see online version for colours)

DUMPING & PROCESSING PLANT
STOCKPILES
OPEN PIT:
DRILLING & LOADING HAULING CRUSHING

5.3.2.2 Fuel management system

Fuel management system (FMS) is a software product rendered by Petroman for
monitoring fuel (diesel) supply and consumption at the mine. Engen, the fuel supplier,
loads fuel into four tanks located at the mining site. The fuel levels in the tanks are
measured by dipping a rod in a tank and recording fuel measured on pieces of paper. Lee
et al. (2015) criticises manual data entry because is it susceptible to errors and events are
recorded long after they have occurred. The mobile dispensers feed from these tanks and
thereafter all other fuel-consuming equipment feed from mobile dispensers. Once more,
the fuel consumption for all equipment is recorded in pieces of paper. These paper sheets,
containing tank levels and fuel consumption data, are later sent to the fuel management
office for capturing in FMS. FMS also requires equipment and measuring point’s master
data to be acquired from the ERP so that fuel consumption is recorded against
corresponding equipment and measuring points. A measuring point is a description of the
physical or logical position where a condition is illustrated. Examples of measuring
points are fuel sump, speedometer, and operating time of an equipment. This integration
is currently done by downloading equipment and measuring points master data into excel
spreadsheets and sending this data to FMS via e-mails. The integration is usually not
done on time, hence master data inconsistency between the ERP and FMS. Industry 4.0
does not advocate for manual, but automatic data integration (Stock and Seliger, 2016).
Fuel consumption must be captured with conforming equipment and measuring point
number in the ERP. There is no real-time reporting of fuel tank levels and consumption
by FMS currently.

5.3.2.3 Fleet management system

Modular mining systems (MMS) are used by the mine to manage a fleet of mining
equipment in the open pit. MMS encompasses numerous databases: firstly, the transport
model dataset that generates real-time equipment fleet model that allows users to modify
operating parameters during sentient processes; secondly, the database that records
historical data on a shift by shift bases. MMS is capable of tracking and recording daily
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 9

equipment activities and the locations of all fleet at the mine. MMS needs equipment
master data from the ERP to record data such as running hours of an engine against
corresponding equipment numbers. There is no real-time master data integration between
SAP ERP and MMS. Data is downloaded manually form SAP ERP and sent to MMS via
e-mails. Thereafter, MMS updates its master data from excel spreadsheets. There is
absence of real-time integration from MMS to the ERP for mining production (metres
drilled and tonnes hauled), unscheduled maintenance, engine running hours, vehicle
operating time, and vehicle locations and movement. Hsu (2015) emphasises that a lot of
focus has been on comprehending the importance of KPIs for production improvement
and analysis of datasets. However, data collected by fleet management systems have not
been analysed adequately for KPIs calculations purposes. Industry 4.0 encourages for
real-time and accurate reporting of crucial business information.

5.3.2.4 Tyre management system

The mine intends to implement a system for monitoring and managing tyres and rims.
Tyre management system (TMS) would primarily monitor the lifespan of every tyre and
rim at the mine. Each tyre or rim would have characteristics such as serial number, size,
make, type, new/re-tread, and position. Otraco is a preferred solution provider of TMS.
The database behind Otracom is a single central Microsoft Structured Query Language
(MSSQL) database that contains information for all Otracom customers and is hosted in
Sydney, Australia. The system is designed with full data redundancy at an alternate data
centre in Sydney. Data from TMS is to be imported and stored in a central repository for
sharing with other mine systems. Master data synchronisation between TMS and ERP is
required for TMS to send data against correct tyres and rims back to the mine (central
data repository).

5.3.2.5 Manufacturing execution system

Elliott (2013) stresses the importance for production companies to implement proper
production management systems. Therefore, manufacturing execution system (MES) is to
be implemented as a production management system in the processing plant where
product is extracted from ore. A Schneider Electronics system is preferred by the mine as
suitable MES solution. There exists a business requirement to integrate operations to SAP
ERP/ECC specifically to provide all relevant data to the ERP as required by business and
to share ERP data as required by the plant systems.

5.3.2.6 Geology and mine planning

The initial steps in a life of any mine pivot around the feasibility of profitably extracting
minerals from an identified resource. This is accomplished by exploration and geology
and mine planning (GMP) processes. In simplified terms, these functions can be grouped
under exploration, exploratory drilling and sampling, resource and reserve definition,
geotechnical modelling, shell and pit design, shell optimisation, mine planning (long,
medium, and short-term), and survey grade control. Throughout the life of any mine,
these functions remain vital in terms of reassessing the remaining resources and the most
effective sequence to extract them. Traditionally, these functions are performed by a wide
variety of different systems that create and use complex three dimensions (3D) and vector
10 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

files to simulate, model, and record geospatial properties such as grade levels and density.
Seeing that these software packages are predominantly desktop applications and these
packages can usually exchange (import and export) files seamlessly between one another,
there is not much scope for automated integration of these software packages. However,
there does exist the value in extracting specific information from sections of this
information flow and sharing this information electronically with other systems in the
mining landscape such as the ERP. Therefore, there is a business requirement to integrate
mine planning with other mine systems to share data such as short and medium term
planning and survey results.

6 Solution design

6.1 Vertical integration

The vertical integration is an enabler for real-time flow of information from the physical
processes through to various levels up to the ERP and vice versa. The ERP makes
available information such as master data (all types), PP and scheduling, and PM. The
systems at the level lower to the ERP provide real-time information, such as overall
equipment effectiveness (OEE), equipment status, WIP, materials consumption, quality,
order status, genealogy, proactive and corrective maintenance, and maintenance status.
Figure 3 depicts the design of the vertical integration layer.

Figure 3 Vertical integration design (see online version for colours)

 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 11

6.2 Horizontal integration

The horizontal integration converge internal ICT systems and the systems of business
partners that are normally found in a mining company. The typical business partners are
suppliers of fuel, tyres, production equipment, raw material, tracking systems, and fleet.
Figure 4 illustrates how the research creates internal and inter-business horizontal
integration.

Figure 4 Horizontal integration design (see online version for colours)

6.3 End-to-end integration

A product creation process involves a series of activities, such as customer requirements
gathering, product design and development, PP, production engineering, manufacturing,
services, maintenance, and recycle. The end-to-end integration can yield a continuous and
consistent product model that can be reused at every stage. The consequence of product
design on production and services can be foreknown to enable customised products
(Wang et al., 2016). This integration layer aims to track the products from inception, raw
material, manufacturing, use, up to the end of life as depicted in Figure 5.

Figure 5 End-to-end integration design (see online version for colours)

12 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

6.4 Theoretical architecture

The theoretical system architecture incorporates all Industry 4.0 integration layers as
depicted in Figure 6. The objective of this architecture is to produce a smart mine with
the characteristics of a smart factory.

Figure 6 Theoretical architecture (see online version for colours)

7 Industry 4.0 implementation, testing, and deployment

The implementation of the Industry 4.0 solution abides by the blueprints and functional
design specifications (FDSs) constructed during the design phase. The specified
development infrastructure (i.e., hardware, software, and networking) is setup and
installed accordingly. The IIoT, AT, and central data repertory (big data) is setup and
three integration layers of Industry 4.0 are developed to realise CPS. The cross functional
KPIs are created and assigned data sources as per the design. The reports are created and
configured to display cross functional KPIs and dashboards. The solution is tested
pedantically to ensure that it is error-free before deployment. The testing of the solution
produces user acceptance testing (UAT) documents to be approved by business. The
approval of UAT documents allows the Industry 4.0 solution to be deployed in the
production environment. Consequently, the solution system is supported for a month to
ensure stability. The following sub-sections explain, in detail, how Industry 4.0 is
implemented at the mine.

7.1 Vertical integration

7.1.1 SAP ERP
The SAP ERP system is integrated with all participating systems via a central data
repository. That is, data from SAP ERP is published to a central repository to grant all
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 13

participating mine systems access to the data. Because SAP ERP is connected to a central
data repository, it has access to all data published by partaking systems. The connection
to and from SAP ERP is implemented via SAP business application programming
interfaces (BAPIs). The BAPIs encapsulate their internal functioning by exposing only
the name of a BAPI and input parameters. An integration interface calls the name of a
PABI and then passes required input data. Thereafter, a BAPI consumes the input data
and returns the required output respectively. The implementation of integration interfaces
that upload data to SAP ERP is discussed in the next sections.

7.1.2 FMS
The sensors are installed on the fuel (diesel) tanks to automatically measure the fuel
levels. The sensors are identified by unique IDs and then paired with their respective fuel
tank IDs. Data, revealing how much fuel is left in each tank, is collected from the sensors
into the central repository. A threshold is set in the system to create an alert if fuel
reaches a certain level in a tank. Consequently, an alert is sent to SAP ERP to order more
fuel for a tank in question. Mobile fuel dispensers feed from the fuel tanks and all other
vehicles devour from the mobile dispensers. Hence, sensors are also installed on these
mobile dispensers and vehicles to measure how much fuel is loaded or consumed. Fuel
consumption data, for each dispenser and vehicle, is collected and stored from sensors to
a central repository. Data collection includes the total amount of time a vehicle is used
and the kilometres a vehicle travels each day. Fuel levels and consumption transactions
are uploaded to SAP ERP immediately after collection. FMS updates its equipment and
measuring points master data from a central data repository.

7.1.3 MMS
The fleet management system collects and stores data in a central repository such as
vehicle engine hours, mining production, unscheduled vehicle maintenance, vehicle
operating time, corrective maintenance, and fleet location and movement. This data is
subsequently sent to SAP ERP system via integration interfaces.

7.1.4 TMS
The TMS implementation encompasses the development of integration interfaces that
send tyres and rims master data from a data repository to TMS once a day. The
integration interface to send data, such as which tyres and rims are installed in which
positions and on which vehicles, to SAP ERP are implemented. Lastly, the interface to
collect data used for TMS KPIs is developed.

7.1.5 MES
The control systems monitor and control shop floor data collected via sensors and
actuators, and subsequently pass this data to the MES. The integration interfaces for
getting data such as production actuals, equipment status, material consumption,
corrective maintenance, equipment working hours, quality, and KPIs from MES into the
central repository are implemented. In return, the integration interfaces that feed MES
with data such as preventative maintenance, corrective maintenance status, calibration,
ore movement, ore stockpile, and PP are developed. Finally, the development of the
14 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

integration interfaces for sending production actuals, quality, materials consumption, and
corrective maintenance data to SAP ERP is completed.

7.2 Horizontal integration

Horizontal integration is achieved by integrating the mine (ERP) with FMS, MMS, TMS,
and GMP systems. Because all five systems publish data to a central repository, the
published data is shared by all participating systems. The communication between SAP
ERP modules creates a horizontal integration at the enterprise level. The overall
horizontal integration makes it possible for the mine to collaborate with the suppliers of
fuel, tyres, rims, and raw material.

7.3 End-to-end integration

The end-to-end integration is realised through the integration of GMP, MMS, MES, and
SAP ERP systems. The design and demarcation of blocks for drilling and blasting occurs
in the GMP system while the actual drilling, blasting, loading and hauling is managed by
MMS. In addition to getting data broadcasted by GMP and MMS, MES gets the product
design data published by SAP ERP for processing. This enables MES to combine design
and planning data from GMP; drilling, blasting, loading and hauling data from MMS; and
product design data from SAP ERP during the manufacturing process. SAP ERP modules
take care of marketing, sales and distribution, and product support activities after a
successful production of uranium.

Figure 7 Overall system architecture (see online version for colours)

BIG
DATA
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 15

7.4 Overall system architecture

The overall system architecture combines all aforementioned Industry 4.0 integration
layers as illustrated in Figure 7.

8 How is the smart mine realised?

8.1 Mass customisation

The mining team can change any drilling pattern, blast, and pile or feed component for
the mine at anytime. The haul truck movement can be scheduled in near real-time. Fuel
dispensing alerts can be sent in real-time before a haul truck is scheduled for production
if insufficient fuel is detected in a truck. The maintenance of each tyre and rim can be
scheduled and customised based on the nature and magnitude of the damage.

8.2 Visibility and optimised decision-making

8.2.1 Production monitoring
Mining production is reported through KPIs such as total metres drilled, tonnes drilled,
waste tonnes mined, ore tonnes mined, ore grade, acid consumption index, ore crashed,
and ore re-handled. The reports display the mining activities in real-time, enabling
management to have a clear view of the mining productivity. Production status from the
processing plant is reported by displaying real-time WIP and quality data against daily
production targets. Displaying WIP allows shop floor supervisors to intervene if daily
production targets are not met. This report feature also relieves operators from recording
their daily achievements on the pieces of paper and prevents incorrect recording of daily
targets and scores at the same time. Having real-time production status allows decision
makers, for example, to shut down a machine if keeps producing bad quality products.

8.2.2 Fuel consumption monitoring

The FMS reports shed light on the amount of fuel available for consumption. It is also
possible to compare which vehicle or group of vehicles consumes more fuel than others.
The implementation of cross-functional KPIs makes it possible to measure and display
fuel consumption per tonnes hauled, kilometres travelled, and hours worked.

8.2.3 Equipment management

Instantaneously knowing, through OEE and utilisation KPIs, if an equipment is
underperforming or underutilised enables management to make swift interventions. The
meantime between failure (MTBF) and meantime to repair (MTTR) allow the mine to
avoid unexpected and expensive downtime through proactive maintenance. Presenting
the amount of corrective, preventative, and cost of maintenance helps reveal how much
time and money the mine spends on maintenance activities. Equipment availability helps
determine how long an equipment was available to operate during production time. This
helps management determine which equipment is usually not available and investigate
the underlying reasons. The cycle time for a job running at the machine is important for
16 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

production performance management. Therefore, the time taken to produce a part is

deduced by multiplying the cycle time by the total parts produced. Thereafter,
performance is calculated by dividing time it should have taken to produce a part by the
actual operating time. Knowing machine cycle times and performance in not sufficient if
quality information is not attached. Therefore, quality information is made available at
the mine by dividing the number of good parts produced by the total number produced
parts. Having real-time quality information helps the mine reduce scrap and increase
yield.

8.2.4 Operational fleet efficiency

The operational fleet efficiency report displays truck information such as average
payload, average tonnes hauled per hour, and amount of time it takes a truck to travel
from ore loading to the dumping area (cycle time). This information is important for PP,
scheduling and determining lead times.

8.2.5 Tyres and rims management

The implementation of Industry 4.0 reports makes it possible for the mine to view
important information about tyres and rims such as cost, fitted life, average failure by
type, and other important attributes. This information helps shed light on how long a
fitted tyre or rim lasts on a vehicle. Knowing this kind of information helps optimise the
replenishment process. Management is well informed of which brands of tyres and rims
last longer than others and how much money is spent on these assets. The tyres and rims
report entails the following additional KPIs: tyre cost per ton, failure cost per operating
hours, lost tread, ware rate, fitted tread utilisation, failure vs. worn, and wear cost per ton.

8.3 Agility
Important information such as time, quality, and price generated by machines, products,
and systems at the mine is instantaneously collected and stored centrally. This
information makes it possible for MES to automatically stop a machine or production line
if it yields inferior quality product or make high-energy consuming machines and
production lines unavailable during peak time.

8.4 Better planning methods

8.4.1 Production scheduling
During the capacity planning and scheduling process, work centre capacities are checked
once the planned order is converted to a production order in SAP ERP. Machine capacity
overloads and constraints are highlighted which allow the operator to re-schedule
operations. The created production orders are transferred to MES which allows the
operator to get a detailed display of all planned production, production order operations,
planned goods movements and dates. The production order basic and scheduled dates are
determined based on materials availability, planned operation processing time, as well as
in-house production time of the assemblies and finished product. The credibility of the
lead times and scheduled dates of the production order is dependent on the accuracy of
the MM master data in SAP ERP as well as the standard values maintained in the routing.
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 17

Once production orders are visible in MES, the operator has the ability to re-schedule
production order operations in cases of unplanned machine downtime. Any re-scheduling
of production order operations done in MES updates the production order dates in SAP
ERP accordingly.

8.4.2 Vehicle movement scheduling

MMS encompasses vehicle scheduling system that converges with the GPS tracking
system, provided by Altech Netstar, to enable automatic fleet scheduling based on current
location. Each truck’s current location and progress is provided by the GPS tracking
system in real-time. This information helps estimate travelling times and automatically
re-schedule if a truck is travelling slower or faster than planned. The current locations of
fleet are updated automatically and can be displayed on maps in real-time. Drivers are
equipped with mobile devices to enable real-time transmission of updated schedules. The
GPS tracking systems is also applied to light-duty vehicles (LDVs), shovels, and
excavators. The vehicle scheduling system interfaces with a central data repository to
make fleet tracking data accessible throughout the mine.

8.4.3 Mine planning

The mine planning information from the GMP system is disseminated to the open pit
supervisors via mobile devices. The open pit supervisors, with the help of geologists,
execute the design of pit drilling and thereafter perform the actual drilling and blasting.
The outcome of drilling and blasting is recorded on the mobile devices and subsequently
sent back to the central data repository for SAP ERP and other systems to access. Having
real-time feedback from the mining pit enables mine planners to create and disseminate
more drilling pattern plans before the next shift begins. The geologists and mine planners
use actual mining production data to compare with and fine-tune the planning of mining
locations within the pit.

8.5 Improved data analysis

All systems (i.e., SAP ERP, FMS, MMS, MES, TMS, and GMP) at the mine are now
integrated and consequently enabled to publish generated data to a central repository. In
addition to enabling the mining systems to communicate with each other in real-time, this
also yields huge volumes of data being generated by these systems and machines. The
resulting data is used for improved analysis, KPI definition and creation, and reporting.
The real-time data collected from mining, manufacturing and all other types of equipment
is now available for use by vendors to monitor performance and consequently improve
efficiency and strengthen their relationship with the mine. Through big data, the mine is
simultaneously realising inexpensive operations, high performance, and good quality
production.

8.6 Remote monitoring

The reports and dashboards are able to display, amongst other things, data collected from
the shop floor systems to the decision makers and data shared from the enterprise level
back to shop floor systems in real-time. The reports are also intelligent enough to display
18 M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

the overall status of the mine through real-time dashboards. These reports are compatible
with any web-enabled fixed or mobile device, making them accessible at any time and
from anyplace. The management uses the reports to view the mining operations from
their offices instead of physically taking a walk to the shop floor. The weekly and
monthly reports are mostly accessed and used for optimisation by the CEO whilst in
China. Therefore, the management and executives have a real-time view of the mine
performance from remote offices, comfort of their homes, and anywhere in the world.

8.7 Automation
The work orders from SAP ERP are electronically downloaded to MES. The MES system
manages the execution of these production orders and sends real-time information such as
WIP, quality, material consumption, and production order status back to SAP ERP. Users
make use of automated and standardised reports that present meaningful information in
the formats that are easy to understand. The fuel tanks have been fitted with sensors for
measuring and recording fuel levels. This enables the supplier to have a real-time
visibility on fuel tank levels, be alerted when these tanks have reached their minimum
levels, and therefore replenish fuel on time. Sensors installed on the mining fleet collect
and store fuel consumption data in a central repository. Thereafter, this consumption is
sent to SAP ERP with corresponding vehicle ID, kilometres, and operating time
automatically.

8.8 Proactive maintenance

The vehicles and mining equipment publish performance information such as engine
hours, mileage, and hours worked. Through this information, the vehicles and machines
have become smart enough to know when they are nearing maintenance. Hence, the
proactive maintenance orders are automatically created in the PM module of SAP ERP
Consequently; the parts are ordered and the work is planned, scheduled, and executed
during an outage instead of a downtime situation. This results in a significant reduction of
the downtime and costly reactive maintenance.

8.9 Integrated supply chain

It is now possible for the suppliers of tyres and rims to have visibility on the lifespan of
their products. Performance information such as failure cost per operating hours, lost
tread, wear rate, fitted tread utilisation, failure vs. worn, and wear cost per tonnes hauled
helps management determine which brand is more suitable and cost-effective. The
suppliers, on the other hand, can use this information to enhance the quality of their
products.

8.10 Energy management

The MES produces, through smart readers, energy consumption data for production lines
and machines in real-time. Knowing which production lines and machines consume more
energy makes it possible for the mine to avoid running those production lines and
machine during peak time. The mine can also integrate energy data to the production
scheduling system.

Functionality Automated
Automated, real-time
order management for all
inventory
Automated fleet
movement, potential for
full autonomous vehicles
Real-time product
movement dashboard
Real-time maintenance
Predictive analytics
Online quality
management
More occupational safety
through augmented
automation
Real-time Currently enabled for
x x Fuel, tyre, rim, explosives
x x Only tracking enabled
x x Partial enablement
x x Mine fleet, processing plant
machines
x x On system level, fuel system,
tyre system, mine fleet,
processing plant machines
x x Processing plant, mining
production, tyre system
x x Fuel system, tyre system, mine
fleet, processing plant machines
Functional areas
All spares, process raw
materials, lab supplies
Mine trucks, fuel trucks,
LDV’s, Outbound product
Mine, blast face, mine heaps,
process plant heaps, waste,
yellow cake, airport
Mine trucks, LDV’s, mining
equipment, processing plant
equipment
Entire value chain,
processing plant, fleet
Mine, blast face, mine heaps,
process plant heaps, waste,
yellow cake, tyres and rims
All plant and production
systems
8.11
Table 3
Enablement Current enablement
requirements readiness
Minimum stock SAP ERP master data,
declarations SAP ERP workflow, MES
stock movement, control
activity
Virtual GPS, All vehicles have tracker
on-board navigation
No additional All data in place
Summary of additional benefits
Summary of additional benefits
Instrument SAP ERP fully ready,
integration on plant, MES capacity available,
PDA in all vehicles PDA to be aligned
Big Data MII database serves a big
data database, expands to
include all plant and SAP
ERP data
Big data, vertical MII database serves a big
integration data database, expands to
include all plant and SAP
ERP data, vertical
integration in place
Instrument All systems and
integration on plant, equipment are integrated
fuel system, and
Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry
mine fleet
19
 20

Table 3

Enablement Current enablement

Functionality
Better working conditions
through ergonomically
adapted workstations
Improved teamwork in the
production environment
through consistent data
Automated Real-time Currently enabled for Functional areas
requirements readiness
x x Fuel system, tyre system, mine All plant systems Vertical integration All systems and
fleet, processing plant, geology from shop floor to equipment are integrated
and mine planning MES and SAP ERP
x x SAP ERP mining production, All plant and production Vertical integration All systems and
processing plant, geology and systems of MMS, MES, and equipment are integrated
mine planning GMP systems
M. Sishi and A. Telukdarie

availability
Improved environment
through optimised use of
resources
Augmented innovative
x x Processing plant equipment,
mine fleet, geology and mine
planning
Mining production, processing
processing plant equipment,
mine fleet, geology and mine
planning
All plant and production
Instrument MES produces energy
integration on plant, consumption data through
fuel system, and smart readers
mine fleet
Vertical, horizontal, All Industry 4.0
Summary of additional benefits (continued)

capabilities through
technological possibilities
in manufacturing
Fully automated real-time
balance score card
Inventory reporting
plant, geology and mine systems and end-to-end integration layers are in
planning integration layers place
x x Fuel system, tyre system, mine All plant and production Real-time reporting, All systems and data in
fleet, processing plant, geology systems big data, vertical place
and mine planning integration
x x Fuel, tyre, raw material, Fuel system, tyre system, Real-time reporting, All systems and data in
finished-product mining production, big data, vertical place
processing plant, geology integration
and mine planning
 Implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the mining industry 21

9 Conclusions

This study presents an overview of Industry 4.0 architecture, allied technologies, and
characteristics of smart production facilities. These technologies are applied to bridge the
technical gaps that exist in the mining environment. Hence, the study proves that CPS,
IIoT, AI, and big data can be implemented using SDLC process to integrate systems that
are operating in silos. By collecting and providing data from the shop floor systems to the
decision makers and business partners and sharing data from the enterprise level back to
shop floor systems in real-time and at anyplace; excellence in management, transparency,
and sustainability of the business can be achieved.

Acknowledgements

The authors seek to thank EOH and the University of Johannesburg for supporting this
research.

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